If you follow the action at the Meadowlands Racetrack, you know how popular the track’s signature wager, the 50-Cent Pick 4, is with the betting public.

What you may not know is how the wager and the sequence that compiles it (Races 8 through 11) impact the overall betting at the industry’s handle leader.

“The Meadowlands Pick 4 pool is averaging $81,785 in 2018 and a little more than $93,000 over the last two Saturdays,” said the track’s chief operating officer and general manager, Jason Settlemoir. “On January 27, the races that made up the Pick 4 sequence saw $938,264 in handle. Those are incredible numbers for our sport. There are also the residual effects of having the most popular wager in the sport.

“The following Saturday, the final Pick 3 pool was over $20,000 and the Late Double pool following our Pick 4 was over $35,000. The final nine races on the card handled over $2 million. These are the type of wagers and pools that we are building our mid-card and late-night audience with and it all starts with the resurgence of our Pick 4 with a 15 per cent takeout.”

The day-by-day Pick 4 pool totals for 2018 (the wager carries a $50,000 guaranteed pool):

• January 12: $72,239
• January 13: $83,204
• January 19: $73,445
• January 20: $86,996
• January 26: $85,775
• January 27: $101,968
• February 2: $64,991
• February 3: $85,779

“Speaking of the late-night audience,” said Settlemoir. “The final race this Friday will offer a 20-Cent Jackpot Super High Five carryover of $92,461. We are at the point now where one person could win $100,000 for a 20-cent wager on our final race of the night.

“What some players do not know is that you don’t have to be a single-ticket winner to make a score in the High Five. Remarkably, 4-5 favourites won the final race both nights of last weekend, but the payouts were $2,094 on Saturday and $5,441 on Friday, nonetheless. That is hard to believe and a good reason for ‘Big M’ fans to always take a shot at the High Five.”

HANDLE HAT TRICK: Total handle at the Big M has exceeded $2.7 million for three straight Saturdays. Pick 5 pools are averaging $72,429 this year, thanks in large part to a $250,000 carryover pool on opening night. Even without a carryover, the wager remains strong, averaging $50,635 in action, more than double the pool’s $25,000 guarantee. The Pick 5 is offered with a 15 per cent takeout.

Free program pages for the Meadowlands Pick 4, courtesy of Track Master, are available on the Meadowlands’ website (playmeadowlands.com) and on the handicapping section at ustrotting.com.

SOCIAL SETTINGS: Is there a carryover in the Pick 5? Did the bettors wager $100,000 in the Pick 4 pool? Need to know what’s going on at the Meadowlands? On Twitter, check out Dave Brower (@eedoogie), track photographer Mike Lisa (@lisaphoto) or the track itself (@themeadowlands). If you prefer Facebook, go to ‘Dave Brower’ or ‘MeadowlandsRacetrack.’

LIVE SHOW FRIDAY: ‘Meadowlands Harness Live’ will return on Friday night and will show Races 7, 8 and 9 from 9-10 p.m. The telecast can be seen on SportsNet New York (SNY) with host Dave Brower, colour commentator Dave Little and handicapper and interviewer Bob ‘Hollywood’ Heyden.

LIVE RACING SCHEDULE: Racing is conducted at the Meadowlands on Friday and Saturday evenings. The winter post time of 6:35 p.m. will continue until Saturday, March 17. Post time will change to 7:15 p.m. on Friday, March 23.

(Meadowlands Racetrack)